Alcatraz Island sits in San Francisco Bay, about 1.25 miles offshore. It held the West Coast's first fort, an early U.S. military prison, the federal penitentiary, and the site of the 1969 to 1971 Native American occupation.
Details
- Type
- Historic Site
- Accessibility
- Limited accessibility
Fort and military prison
The Army fortified Alcatraz in the 1850s, mounting its first cannons in 1854 to defend the entrance to San Francisco Bay. By the early 1860s it carried more than a hundred guns and was the only completed fort in the bay during the Civil War. The island began holding prisoners in 1859 and served for decades as the military prison for the Department of the Pacific.
Federal penitentiary
The Bureau of Prisons took over in 1934 and ran Alcatraz as a maximum-security penitentiary for inmates considered difficult or dangerous at other federal prisons. Over 29 years of operation, more than 1,500 men were held here. The prison closed in 1963.
Occupation and park
From 1969 to 1971, a group of Native American activists occupied the island for 19 months, drawing national attention to Native American civil rights and federal policy. Alcatraz became part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area in 1972 and opened to the public in 1973. Ferries run from San Francisco; the island also supports nesting seabird colonies and historic gardens.